Reflection Homework

The homework aims to see the strengths and weaknesses of myself, and also where the final video needs to be.

1. What are your practical strengths?
One of my main practical strengths is camerawork  I am confident in using the camera. But if i don't like a shot, i wont be afraid to say it, and re-film. I often visualize what would look best in post production. Also i feel i am good at directing. Saying to the actor or signer certain things to do  which would work best.

2. What are the things you would like to improve during your practical project?

My knowledge in media media both practically and theoretically are forever being enhanced  I feel like my ability in editing is very limited. And would ideally love to have it at a higher level. But throughout the project i am watching main editor Josh. Watching Josh is helping me know where and when to use certain tools. Additionally some cool effect to use and apply. So i feel i have got better at editing from this project.

3. What are your ambitions for your music video project?
My and my groups ambitions for our music video is to have a cool, well thought out, fun music video. Which is reflective of the rap genre. Showing of our star persona in a generic way.

Genre Research Part 3

The third artist we looked at is B.o.B, a quite successful rapper from Georgia, with four top-ten singles under his belt including  two number-ones, and a number one debut album. Once again, we Google Image searched 'B.o.B promo', then looked at his album and single artwork, before finally focusing in on his video for the track 'Nothin' On You'.

Google Image search for 'b.o.b rapper promo'

'The Adventures Of Bobby Ray' Album Artwork

'Nothin' On You' Single Artwork

'Airplanes' Single Artwork

As we have seen before, all of B.o.B's album and single artwork focuses on the rapper himself, but this time each one has a typographic twist in displaying B.o.B's name and the title of the song/album.

'Nothin' On You' Video

Possibilities of mise-en

 Mise-en-scene is a key thing to think about in any aspect of media. And espically in producing media products. i.e A music video.

The Fifteen Points of Mise-en-scene

Tip: The important part of a mise en scene analysis is not just identifying the components of the shot, but explaining the meaning or significance behind those components and connecting the shot to the themes of the film.

1. Dominant

2. Lighting key

3. Shot and camera proxemics

4. Angle

5. Color values

6. Lens/filter/stock

7. Subsidiary contrasts

8. Density

9. Composition

10. Form

11. Framing

12. Depth

13. Character placement

14. Staging positions

15. Character proxemics

This information was from: http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/15points.htm

These points above are very specific areas of mise-en-scene which  for the camerwork,set

costume:

Lighting:

We had the idea that w wanted to create a studio type feel. Possible using strong, close lighting on the main character. 

Camerawork:

We thought that for Camerawork, we're going to use both close-ups

Genre Research Part 2

The second artist we found was Mac Miller. He has released a lot of free mixtapes and released his debut album, 'Blue Slide Park' in 2011. Again, we google Image searched 'Mac Miller Promo', then looked more closely at his album and mixtape artwork. After that we focused on his video for the track 'Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza'.

Google Image search for 'mac miller promo'

'Blue Slide Park' Album Artwork

'KIDS' Mixtape Artwork

'Knock Knock' Single Artwork

'Best Day Ever' Mixtape Artwork

As with Tinie Tempah, a lot of Mac Miller's promo artwork focuses on him, however it takes a slightly different turn by being more abstract, featuring a lot of artwork based on Mac Miller's persona but without directly featuring him.

'Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza' Video

Genre Research Part 1

Using Last.fm, we searched for similar artists to Chiddy Bang, in order to gain a feel for the type of music video and promotion artists within their genre use. We discovered many similar artists, and chose three to look at in more detail.

Tinie Tempah is well known in the UK, with two number-one singles and many more chart hits, as well as his number-one debut album, 'Disc-Overy'. We searched 'Tinie Tempah promo' on Google Images to see what came up, and also looked more specifically at the CD covers for his album and some of his singles. Then we moved on to his videos, choosing to focus on 'Pass Out', his most popular.

Google Image search for 'tinie tempah promo'

'Disc-Overy' Album Artwork

'Pass Out' Single Artwork

'Written In The Stars' Single Artwork

'Wonderman' Single Artwork

We can see a recurring theme in Tinie Tempah's promo artwork, in that it focuses on him but also includes a lot of interesting arty effects around him, all in a similar style that runs through his discography.

'Pass Out' Music Video

Research - Hair + Makeup (Homework)

Hair and makeup is very important when it comes to music videos; the finishing touch. They bring everything together and make the whole video come across a lot more effective. The most common things used when it comes to a make up artist is products such as foundation and/or powder, blusher, mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow, these poducts make the face of the star or stars look more proffesional and airbrushed, using make up gets rid of spots and blemishes thats why a minimum of make up is used for boys too, it gives the male an opportunity to look matte and perfected.

 

example for males:       

This gentlemen is a classic example of discreet make-up and this is what some males during interviews, music video's and films wear if there character is just them. more make up would be used if the star was an avatar or omething along them lines. And the make up would be more the face paint type of use. As you can see on this star his face lookes very clear and matte, there is no obvious sign of blemishes or spots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Example for Females:

This women is an example of the type of make up used on females. it is used for confidence levels too, as when a women is the star thats who the audience spend the majo.rity of time looking at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

              

Analyse another music video - Homework

Above is the music video to Lil wayne and Bruno Mars' song 'Mirror'. There are a variety of different reasons to why i chose to analyse this video. There are a few techniques which i think work very well and would think about using them in our music video.
Firstly, i really like the way the lighting has been used. The lights around him are a soft warm colour however still are bright. Using these lights have created dark shadows on one side of his body. I found that this came across very effective and slightly mysterious; makes the shots more interesting and look professional.
Secondly, i like how at the start of the music video there are a few extreme close up shots of Lil waynes face + body. The shots are slightly slow motion, but the duration of each shot is rather rapid. This works really well as it fits with the music and is like a build up.
Finally, I like the use of paint. For example the slow motions shots of the paint being dropped to the floor. For our music video, want to have abstract shots as well some shots including people. I think using this paint idea would work nicely in our video.

Music video

GENRE OF OUR MUSIC VIDEO

The genre of our chosen music video is rap/hip hop. This genre consists of a stylised rhythmic music

that commonly accompanies rapping; a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. 

Rap developed as part of hip hop culture. Other elements include sampling and beat boxing. 

Below is a couple of different music video which has the same genre as our music video:

 The music video above consists of a variety of different effective techniques. For example, there are a few shots with the lyrics written on top. I found that this worked really well as it emphasizes important and effective lryics.

Also, there is a part of the music video where the guy is standing in the middle of the screen and everything in the shot is shaking; like an earthquake. We want to use this effective at one point in our music video because the effect comes across very abstract and this is what we want to achieve.

Promo Artwork

These are some examples of existing promo artwork for Chiddy Bang. The group have gone for quite a cartoony advertising style, so we think our promo artwork could continue the abstract theme of our video, but feature the artists in a slight cartoony way.

Inspirational Music Videos

These videos are not necessarily related to the genre of our music video, but they have a lot of good ideas that will inspire us.

TNGHT - Higher Ground

This music video features a lot of extended shots, but the most interesting ones occur about halfway in when they introduce a bunch of shots of colourful household items, lit by high-key lighting, and filmed in slow motion. We think this could work well as part of a slightly more abstract video.

Baths - Aminals

This unofficial video was made really simply by pouring coloured dyes into water and playing the footage backwards in slow motion, but creates a very effective and interesting video. This effect coupled with shots similar to the previous video would work well in a music video.

Disclosure - Control

This video features a very simple effect, overlaying a sort-of mask over people as they dance, but it works really well.

Rusko - Everyday (Netsky remix)

The video for this remix is just made up of tour footage, but we really like the look of the crowds going mental to the song, so we think maybe we could set up some kind of party to film and add the shots to our video so that it features elements of abstraction and more conventional music video fare.

Initial Research

To gain more inspiration we decided to look at some more videos by Chiddy Bang. Their most popular is 'Opposite of Adults.'

This video is quite conventional, apart from the obvious gimmick of the group members having giant heads, which could be to portray them as children, since children's heads are bigger in relation to their bodies. It shows some traditional elements of hip-hop culture such as skateboarding, and also connects to the theme of the song - how fun it is being a kid - with shots located in areas such as a school and a park, and events such as getting free stuff in a cereal box, or dressing up and play-fighting.

We like the semi-abstract links to the lyrics in the video, and the effect of the enlarged heads, but it would be difficult to do a similar effect with the equipment we have in media.

The next video we looked at is 'Truth.'

This video is shot in black and white, but features animation over the top, done in the style of a watercolour painting, which creates a very interesting effect. The shots are standard shots of the artist lipsyncing, as well as shots of people around New York City, which on their own would be quite boring, but the animation brings them to life, creating a new viewing experience.

Our Music Video

We have chosen to make a music video for the song 'Never' by Chiddy Bang. 

We believe this song will enable us to try a wide range of filmmaking techniques to make an interesting music video. We didn't want to choose a slow, soppy song because it would most likely result in a very clichéd music video, and we didn't want to choose a rock or metal based song because the music video would be based around instrumentation with very little opportunity to explore more creative options.